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From John and Yoko to Miley Cyrus, Annie Leibovitz to David LaChapelle, the cover of Rolling Stone has always been an art form in its own right. Now you can explore all our covers, and read full articles from classic issues dating back to our 1967 launch in our brand-new Cover Wall.
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Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell - 1961

Rock & roll reached a real low point in the very early 1960s. Elvis was in the army, Buddy Holly was dead, Little Richard found Jesus, Jerry Lee Lewis was marred by scandal and Chuck Berry was in prison on a trumped up racial charge. Enter Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell. They were extremely non-threatening young men with hits like "Kissin Time," "Kissin' and Twistin'" and "Venus." With no other teen idols to cling to, teenage girls learned to make do with these guys – fueled by their frequent appearances on American Bandstand. Then the Beatles came and these guys were forgotten in an instant. None of their individual breakouts would earn a place on this list, but as a three-headed teen idol monster, they manage to sneak in. They also tour together to this day, and even some of their fans have a hard time remembering which one is which.